Mudra

The Lotus Flower

Posted on Dec 31, 2017

The lotus flower is an eminent symbol of Buddhism. Most statues and sculptures of the Buddhas and bodhisattvas are portrayed to sit in a meditative posture on a platform of a lotus flower. In fact, Buddhas and bodhisattvas are said to have transformed, or born, from the lotus flower.

The lotus flower denotes truth and purity. In the Lotus Sutra, the white lotus sutra is used as a symbol to denote the Law of Supreme Perfect Enlightenment, which is the ultimate truth of life. Besides, the Buddha expounds the meditation upon Emptiness in The Sutra of Meditation on Bodhisattva Universal Worthy (closing sutra) as a means to purify all spiritual defilements so as to attain complete liberation from suffering.

The blossoming of the lotus flower represents the pinnacle of beauty and abundance in the state of Buddhahood, the unsurpassed state of life.In Buddhist symbolism the lotus is symbolic of purity of the body, speech, and mind as while rooted in the mud, its flowers blossom on long stalks as if floating above the muddy waters of attachment and desire. It is also symbolic of detachment as drops of water easily slide off its petals.